Knitting-needle



S. E. TAFTQ KNITTING NEEDLE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. :0. 1920.

l,398,8 1 8. Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

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. UNITED sTArES] r rENT OFFICE.

SYDNEY E. 'rAr'r, or rnAntINoH M, MASSACHUSETTS, Assronon TO SPARTAN NEEDLE COMPANY, or PROVIDENCE, RHODE' ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF moon ISLAND.

' KNITTiNG-NEEDLE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patent d N 29 1921 Application filed January 10, 1920. Serial No. 350,541.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, SYDNEY E. TAFT, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Framingham, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Knitting-Needles, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawin' s representing like parts.

his invention relates to knitting instruments and particularly to thoseadapted to the production of fabrics such as'areproduced upon spring beard needles, latch.

needles or crochet needles.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown merely for illustrative purposes one embodiment of my invention wherein:

Figure 1 is'an enlarged side elevation of the instrument;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation on the same scale of the sheath of the instrument;

Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of the hook member;

Fig. 4 is a section greatly enlarged taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1';

Fig. 5 is a transverse section also greatly enlarged of the sheath and needle combined as taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view showing the loop enterin 100p shedding and hook point guarding e ements'of the sheath;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail side elevation gt a corresponding portion of the hook mem- Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the loop forming elements of the instrument in the positions occupied thereby at the beginning of the loop forming operation, a' section of fabric being shown suspended from the instrut; I I I I Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the elements shown in Fig. 8, said elements occupying different positions with respect to the knit ting plane, preferably indicating a second ste in the operation of the knitting;

ig. 10 is'a similar view wherein the loop Flg. 12 shows the parts back in their former positions as shown in Fig. 8.

The knitting instrument shown in the accompanymg drawings comprises a yarn drawing member 1 having at its upper end a suitable hook 2 for engaging the new yarn and drawing thesaine through the old or previously formed loop of the fabric. This hook may embody various forms but herein I have provided a hook-wherein the head 3 1s formed slightly greater in width, that is from the back edge to the front edge thereof, than the shank 4 or stem 5, said shank and said stem being substantiall of equal width. A butt 6 is provided herein by bend mg the metal constituting the stem so as to produce a butt of suitable length. The upper end of the hook member is reduced in-the process of manufacture so as to produce a throat 7 which starts from a point 8, at the front of the yarn drawing member and curves rearwardly thereof to the desired depth to form a narrow neck portion 9.

The hook 2 extends forwardly from the portion 9 and terminates in a front portion 10, sometimes referred to as a beard which ,may be non-flexible or non-resilient, or as herein it may be slightly resilient similar to although in the present example said beard is formed with its inner edge 11 lying substantially parallel with the rear edge of the hook drawing member, the beard 10 being tapered and terminating in a point 12. The rear edge of the hook end of said yarn drawing member is grooved at 13 from the head 3 a predetermined distance along the shank 4 herein to a point below the point 8 of said throat.

The knitting instrument herein shown also embodies a sheath 14 which is arranged in slidable relation to said yarn drawing member and to substantially envelop three faces thereof, said sheath preferably embodying in its construction a groove or channel like structure consisting of a side portion 15, a rear outstandin edge 16 and a front outstanding edge 1 said outstanding portions engaging the rear and front edges res ec tively of the yarn drawing member 1. he sheath 14 also includes at its upper end a, loop entering element which be 'ns in a point 19, constituting the extremity of the outstanding edge 16 and this point is arsheath ranged to travel in the groove 13 formed at the back of the yarn drawing member or hook. From the point 19 said loop entering elementextends downward and forwardly, preferably obliquely as at 20 along one side only of the hook to the front edge of said hook and terminates in and includes a hump 21. This hump is extended laterally from the side 15 of said sheath and across the front of the hook to form a hook or at the hook side of said sheath guard. 22, the latter being inclined at its upper and lower edges 23 and 24 respectively to facilitate the free movement of the loops or yarns during loop.

forming operations, but at the same time guarding the point 12 of said hook, so as to prevent such loop from catchingthereon.

' The outside dimension of the sheath from the front edge of said hump to the rear edge of the loop entering element, as most clearly shown in Fig. 4, is herein substantially equal to, or at least no greater than, the width of the combined bend or head of the hook and the adjacent portion of the loop entering element 18. may be held upon the loop casting ofi' member herein comprising the elements 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22, will not be extended during the loop casting off operation and while passing over the hump 21, beyond the degree of elongation or opening produced by the passing of said hook through said loop.

The hump 21 is herein extended slightly beyond the wall 17 of the sheath and said hump is separated from said walls by a depression 25 that is formed in the front edge of the sheath and constitutes a throat within which the old loop that has been entered and opened by the loop entering element 18, may rest during the laying of new yarn in the eye of the needle against the neck 9 thereof when the hook is raised to its upper position.

The front outstanding member 17 of the terminates a substantial distance above the butt 6 in order to allow sufficient relative sliding movement between the yarn drawing member and said sheath and the material constituting the side 15 of said sheath instead of being bent laterally at this section is extended in the same plane as the side 15 to form a high wall 26 but upon one side only of the yarn drawing member, the extent of said high wall being determined by the depth of the trick of the needle cylinder within which the needle, when used as a machine needle, is placed. The wall 26 at its lower end is laterally extended at 27 and to a portion of the wall 26-below the butt 6 of the yarn drawing member, and said extension 27 is secured to a block 28 substantially conforming in shape to the form of the wall 26 and its lateral extension 27, the latter constituting a sheath butt 29. The block 28 is herein formed of equal thickness with the stem and shank 5 and 4 respectively onsequently any loop which of the yarn drawing member, and the back edge of said block constitutes a guard for the front edge of said stem 5 supplementing at this point the front edge 17 of said sheath as a guide for the yarn drawing member.

The thickness of the wall 15 of the sheath plus that of the yarn drawing member 1 substantially equals the width of the needle groove or trick in the cylinder of the machine wherein the needle is to be used; 'oonsequently the placing of the knitting instru mentin the needle groove of the cylinder will be suflicient to prevent separation of said members during knitting operations.

The block 28 may be secured to the wall 26 in any suitable manner such as by rivets,

welding or the like, herein by riveting as shown most clearly in Figs. 1 and 5.

The various elements of the knitting instrument hereinbefore described may be functioned by hand as in orocheting or they may be employed in knitting machines of various types and the two members namely the. yarn drawing member and the sheath may be functioned by means of suitable cams such as are common to well known types of knitting machines for example the Banner knitting machine, and the products of said instrument may be of varied character as for example ribbed or plain fabrics or crocheting.

i In Figs. 8 to 12 inclusive the knitting instrument is shown in various positions to which the parts thereof are moved during the knitting operation. In Fig. 8 wherein the elements of the instrument are indicated as occupying their initial positions, a previ' ously formed loop is being shown suspended from the hook. InFig. 9, which illustrates the next step in the operation, the hook drawing member is shown partly raised for the point or heard to clear the loop held by said hook.- Fig. 10 illustrates the needle elements in a further advanced position, the sheath or loop entering portion thereof having, at this time, passed through the old loop so as to deposite said old loop within the throat of the sheath just below the hump 21 while the hook or yarn drawing member is in its uppermost position in readiness to receive a new yarn which is here shown lymg against the neck portion of the hook. It should be noted that in Fig. 9 the point 12 of theloop drawing member has been moved to a position slightly above the hump 21 of the sheath so that the inclined or curved surface 8 adjoining said point 12 and the neck of the needle, is slighly above the inclined surface 20 of said sheath, and it is with the yarn drawing member and the sheath in the positions thus indicated that the knitting instrument is moved to the position shown. in Fig. 10, and during this movement when the-knitting lDStIUHIGIlt is raised to its highest position, the point 19 of the loop entering element is raised to enter the loop at the rear of the hook through the normal opening insaid loop and the continned upward movement'of said instrument causes said loop to ride along the inclined surface 8 and the-corresponding surface 20 ofthe sheath, over the hump and needle point guard to the throat 25 of the sheath and likewise of the yarn drawing member which position said loop has .assumed in Fig. 10. Withthe parts in this position the new yarn is fed to the needle above the hump as shown, said hump effecting the separation of said new yarn and sa1d previously formed loop for the purpose of providing ample space for the point of the hook drawingelement to pass therebetween in the subsequent operation as shown in Fig. 11. In the latter figure it will be observed that the point of the hook is covered by the hook guard 22 and by reason of the fact that the entire taper of the hook beard is upon the outer side of said beard, the point of said beard will safely pass inside of the guard 22 during the lowering of the yarn drawing element as in Fig. 11. Following the covering of the point of said needle heard the instrument is then operated to cast ofi the loop within its throat and this operation takes place during the movement of the instrument from the position shown in Fig- 11 to that shown in Fig. 12 wherein the yarn drawing element and likewise the sheath have been moved to their lowermost positions and the loop which, in the previous position, was resting below the hump 21 has been passed over said hump and off the head or hand of the hook and now remains suspended from the new loop contained within said hook. The proportions of the various elements of the instrument hereinbefore described may vary to correspond with the character of the fabric that -is to be produced and the thickness of the yarn drawing member'will be the thickness of the wall 15 less than the depth of'the groove or trick, or less the thickness of a spring beard needle or a latch needle of a corresponding gage.

It will be obvious that by arranging the sheath at one side only of the needle and in retaining the outside dimension of the hump within the dimension of the head of the needle hook, and by reason of the fact that the wall 15 and also the hump 21 is exceedingly thin, little, if any stretch will be produced in the'loop during the insertion of the sheath in the old loop and in the casting off of said loop from the instrument.

By referring to Fig. 4 is will be seen that the hook guard 22 is slightly curved so as to conform with the curve of the outer portion of the hook 2, and this feature cooperates with the point 19 of the sheath, which travels in the groove 13 formed at the back of the needle, to prevent lateral flexure or displacement of the hook with respect to the sheath during the movement of said sheath and hook above the guiding walls of the needle cylinder and during the time in the operation of the instrument when the beard is protected-by the guard. When the point of the hook is above the range of the hook guard 22 the point 19 is still within the groove 13 of the yarn drawing element and under ordinary conditions is suflicient to prevent lateral deflection of the hook with respect to the sheath but to guard against any possible chance of the point '19 becoming disengaged from the groove 13, portions of the flange 17 of the sheath have been cut away below the yarn engaging portions thereof as shown at 30, so as to allow the shank of the yarn drawing member to project slightly beyond the side wall 15 and edge 17 of the sheath and against this exposed portion of the shank, the spring bands of the kntting machine, not shown, will rest and yieldingly retain said yarn drawing member against the rear edge 16 of said sheath with the point 19 in continuous engagement with the groove 13.

While I have herein shown and described merely for illustrative purposes onespecific embodiment of my invention, and have disclosed and discussed in detail the construction and arrangement incidental to such disclosure, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is limited neither to the mere details or relative arrangement of the parts nor to the specific application herein shown, but that extensive variations from the illustrations may be made without departing from the principles thereof.

Claims: 1

1. A knitting instrument comprising a yarn drawing member and a sheath arranged for relative sliding movement, said ranged at the back and extending downward and forwardly along one side only of said yarn drawing member.

4;. A knitting instrument comprising 'a yarn drawing member and a sheath arranged for relative sliding movement, said sheath including a loop entering element: pointed at the back of said yarn drawing member and extending downward and forwardly along one side only of said yarn drawing member.

5. In a knitting instrument a hooked member, and a sheath having a loop spreading element enveloping one side, the front andrear edges only of said hook of said hooked member. a

6. A knitting instrument comprising a. hooked member, a sheath engaging the front and back edges of said hooked member to partially inclose said hooked member and butts on said hooked member and sheath respectively to effect relative sliding movement of said members.

7. A knitting instrument comprising a hook, a sheath having a loop entering element arranged at the rear of said hook, and a hook guard formed upon the hook side of said sheath to cover the point of said hook during the loop casting off operation; and means for effecting relative sliding move- .ment of said members.

8. A knitting instrument comprising a hooked yarn drawing member, a sheath arranged to slide along one side of said hooked member, a loop entering element carried by said sheath at the back of said hook and a loop separating element at the front of said sheath extending across the front of said hook.

9. A knitting instrument comprising a hook having a groove extending longitudinally of the rear edge thereof, a sheath slidable with respect to said hook and provided .with a loop entering element including a point to operate in said groove, said loop entering element extending forwardly and sliding movement with iespect to said yarn drawing member, said sheath having outstanding edges arranged at the front and rear of said yarn dra ing member to inclose said yarn drawing member, portions of the front edge of said yarn drawing member below its yarn engaging portions being cut away to a point back of the plane of said front edge to permit engagement of the loop with said yarn drawing member.

12. In a knitting instrument comprising a yarn drawing member provided with a resilient hook beard, a sheath arranged to slide longitudinally of said yarn drawing member and a hook guard extending across the front edge of said hook to cover the point of said hook duringtheloop casting off op erations.

13. In a knitting instrument comprising a yarn drawing member provided with a spring beard having its front edge inclined inwardly from the beard of sald member and relatively to the rear edge thereof, a sheath slidably arranged at one side of said yarn drawing member, said sheath having said hooked member, a pointed loop entering element carried by said sheath at the rear of said hooked member and a guard carried by said sheath to cover the point of said hooked member during the loop casting ofi' operations. I

15. A knitting instrument comprising a yarn drawing member having a hook formed at one end thereof, said yarn drawing member havin a throat formed adjacent v the point of sand hook, a sheath having slidable engagement with said yarn drawing member, said sheath including'outs'tanding edges to engage the front and rear edges of said yarn drawing member, a loop entering ele' ment formed at one end of said sheath adjacent the rear of said hook and extending downward and toward the front edge of said hook, a loop casting off element to cooperate with said loop entering element, said loop casting ofi' element including a guard to cover the point of said hook during the casting off operations, and means to move said sheath and said yarn drawing element relatively to each other to effect cooperation between said loop entering element and the lower portion of the throat of said yarn drawing element to place a loop withir said throat.

16. A knitting instrument comprising a hook and means slida'bly arranged at one side only of said hook to effect the opening of the loop supported by said hook for the passage therethrough of said hook and the casting off of said loop from said hook.

17. A knitting instrument comprisingrela tively slidable hook and sheath members. said sheath being arranged at one side only of said hook and having outstand ingportions at opposite edges thereof constituting respec tively loop entering and loop casting off 1.3.5

tions disposed at the edges of said hook constituting loop entering and loop separating elements.

19. A knitting instrument comprising relatively slidable hook and sheath members,

said sheath being arranged at one Side only of said hook and having outstanding portions disposed at the edges of said'hook constituting loop entering, loop separating and hook point guarding elements.

20. A knitting instrument comprising relatively slidable hook and sheath members, said sheath being arranged at one side only of said hook and having outstanding portions disposed at the back and front edges of said hook and constituting respectively loop entering and loop casting ofi' elements,

said loop casting off element including a loop separating element and a point guard.

21. A knitting instrument comprising a hooked yarn drawing member, a sheath to substantially envelop one side and the front and back edges of said hooked member, said sheath having means to enter a loop at the back of said yarn drawing member and a hook guard extending across the front edge of said yarn drawing member.

22. A knitting instrument comprising a hook having a pointed beard 10 and a sheath slidably arranged at one side of said hook, said sheath including a guard 22 adapted to engage the front end of said beard and effect the free movement of a loop past the end of said beard during the loop casting of! operation.

23. A knitting instrument comprising a hooked yarn drawing member having a resilient beard 10 and'means to cooperate with the hook of said hooked yarn drawing memher during the loop casting off operations, said means including a plate 15 arranged at one side of said hook and provided with out standing portions 16 and 17 to engage the front and rear edges of said yarn drawing member, said means also including a guard 22 to cover the point of said hook during said loop casting ofi' operation.

24:. A knitting instrument comprising a hooked yarn drawing member having a pointed beard l0 and a sheath cooperating with said yarn drawing member during the loop forming operation, said sheath having a pointed loop entering member arranged at the back of said hook, an inclined surface extending forwardly from the point of said loop entering member along one side only of said hooked yarn drawing member and terminating in loop casting ofi' elements 21 and 22.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

SYDNEY E. TAFT. 

